Creating the right change for community change

Prior to embarking on a 15-year expansion masterplan for Rouse Hill Town Centre, GPT tasked us with informing and growing support from its local community for its plans. The expansion would dramatically change the nature of the area with high-rise residential, new retail, commercial and public facilities centred around the new $8.2 billion Metro line.

In order to engage them throughout the development journey, we needed to establish a strong bond with the local community through empathy and trust. To do so, we collaborated closely with GPT and community consultation partners, developing a campaign platform which respected the values of the area, welcomed their feedback, and began the conversation around change.

The ‘Growing Together’ platform set a tone of collaboration and inclusiveness from the outset, with an illustrative design language which was friendly and non-confrontational, focusing on the diverse sense of place and leafiness of the area. The campaign included a website and online survey, in-centre exhibition and advertising and laddered down into local placemaking initiatives.